NBA 2004/05
National Basketball Association | |||
◄ previous | 2004/05 season | next ► | |
Duration | November 2004 - June 2005 | ||
Season games per team | 82 | ||
Number of teams | 30th | ||
Regular season | |||
Best record | Phoenix Suns | ||
Season MVP | Steve Nash | ||
Top scorer | Allen Iverson | ||
Playoffs | |||
Eastern - Champion | Detroit Pistons | ||
Runner-up team | Miami Heat | ||
Western - Champion | San Antonio Spurs | ||
Runner-up team | Phoenix Suns | ||
Finals | |||
NBA champions | San Antonio Spurs | ||
Runner-up | Detroit Pistons | ||
Finals MVP | Tim Duncan |
The 2004/05 NBA season was the National Basketball Association's 59th season . The regular season started on November 2, 2004 and ended on April 20, 2005 . With the newly founded Charlotte Bobcats , a total of 30 teams have participated since this season. Each team played 82 games. The eight best in each conference qualified for the NBA Playoffs , which began on April 23, 2005 and were completed by the 2005 NBA Finals on June 23 .
The San Antonio Spurs defeated the defending champions Detroit Pistons 4-3 in the NBA Finals and were NBA champions for the third time in the club's history after 1999 and 2003 . They are only the fifth NBA team to win at least three titles ( Boston Celtics , Los Angeles Lakers , Chicago Bulls and Detroit Pistons).
Season Notes
- The NBA returned to Charlotte: The Charlotte Bobcats became the league's 30th team. They played their first season at the Charlotte Coliseum.
- The NBA introduces a new table system. From this point on, the game was played in six divisions of five teams each, instead of four divisions with seven or eight teams as before.
- The NBA All-Star Game was played on February 20, 2005 in Denver at the Pepsi Center . The east won against the west by 125-115. Allen Iverson of the Philadelphia 76ers became All-Star MVP .
- During the NBA All-Star Weekend , Quentin Richardson won the Three-Point Shootout , Steve Nash the Skills Challenge, and Diana Taurasi , Dan Majerle and Shawn Marion the NBA All-Star Weekend Shooting Stars Competition - all victories for Phoenix. Amar'e Stoudemire made it to the final of the Slam Dunk Contest , but lost and could not complete the Phoenix Suns series of victories.
- Prior to the start of the regular season , Shaquille O'Neal was traded to the Miami Heat by the Los Angeles Lakers due to his poor relationship with team member Kobe Bryant . Fans saw in this trade as well as in the championship of the Detroit Pistons from the previous year a possible end to the dominance of the Western Conference , which was not confirmed with the championship title for the San Antonio Spurs .
- The Memphis Grizzlies are playing their first game on the FedExForum .
- At the beginning of the regular season, a game between the Detroit Pistons and the Indiana Pacers was suspended due to a riot. This riot known as The Malice at the Palace , in which fans fought against players, among other things, resulted in the longest active player suspension in NBA history. The Pacers' Ron Artest has been suspended for 73 games plus play-offs.
- The Washington Wizards played under their new name in the playoffs for the first time, after changing it from Bullets to Wizards in 1996, but never made it to the playoffs since.
- The Chicago Bulls took part in the play-offs for the first time since their last championship title in 1998 (after the championship they had lost their superstars Michael Jordan , Scottie Pippen and Dennis Rodman, as well as coach Phil Jackson and many others). This participation is particularly noteworthy as they had an extremely young squad. Ben Gordon , Luol Deng , Chris Duhon and Andrés Nocioni were rookies , Kirk Hinrich in his second season and Tyson Chandler and Eddy Curry in their fourth.
Final results
S = wins, N = defeats, PCT = percentage of wins, P = deficit on division leaders
The placements in the seed lists of the respective conference playoffs are listed in brackets.
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Leading the player stats
category | player | team | value |
---|---|---|---|
Points per game | Allen Iverson | Philadelphia 76ers | 30.7 |
Rebounds per game | Kevin Garnett | Minnesota Timberwolves | 13.5 |
Assists per game | Steve Nash | Phoenix Suns | 11.5 |
Steals per game | Larry Hughes | Washington Wizards | 2.9 |
Blocks per game | Andrei Kirilenko | Utah Jazz | 3.3 |
Field throw quota | Shaquille O'Neal | Miami Heat | 60.0% |
Free throw rate | Reggie Miller | Indiana Pacers | 93.3% |
Three throw quota | Fred Hoiberg | Minnesota Timberwolves | 48.3% |
Honors
- Most Valuable Player : Steve Nash , Phoenix Suns
- Defensive Player of the Year : Ben Wallace , Detroit Pistons
- Rookie of the Year : Emeka Okafor , Charlotte Bobcats
- Sixth Man of the Year : Ben Gordon , Chicago Bulls
- Most Improved Player : Bobby Simmons , Los Angeles Clippers
- Coach of the Year : Mike D'Antoni , Phoenix Suns
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All-NBA First Team :
- F - Tim Duncan , San Antonio Spurs
- F - Dirk Nowitzki , Dallas Mavericks
- C - Shaquille O'Neal , Miami Heat
- G - Allen Iverson , Philadelphia 76ers
- G - Steve Nash , Phoenix Suns
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All-NBA Second Team:
- F - LeBron James , Cleveland Cavaliers
- F - Kevin Garnett , Minnesota Timberwolves
- C - Amar'e Stoudemire , Phoenix Suns
- G - Dwyane Wade , Miami Heat
- G - Ray Allen , Seattle SuperSonics
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All-NBA Third Team:
- F - Tracy McGrady , Houston Rockets
- F - Shawn Marion , Phoenix Suns
- C - Ben Wallace , Detroit Pistons
- G - Kobe Bryant , Los Angeles Lakers
- G - Gilbert Arenas , Washington Wizards
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NBA All-Defensive First Team :
- F - Tim Duncan , San Antonio Spurs
- F - Kevin Garnett , Minnesota Timberwolves
- C - Ben Wallace , Detroit Pistons
- G - Bruce Bowen , San Antonio Spurs
- G - Larry Hughes , Washington Wizards
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NBA All-Defensive Second Team:
- F - Andrei Kirilenko , Utah Jazz
- F - Tayshaun Prince , Detroit Pistons
- C - Marcus Camby , Denver Nuggets
- G - Chauncey Billups , Detroit Pistons
- G - Jason Kidd , New Jersey Nets
- G - Dwyane Wade , Miami Heat
- All-NBA Rookie First Team :
- All-NBA Rookie Second Team:
Play-offs 2005
All play-off rounds are played in best-of-seven mode.
First round | Conference semifinals | Conference Finals | NBA finals | |||||||||||||||
1 | * Miami | 4th | ||||||||||||||||
8th | New Jersey | 0 | ||||||||||||||||
1 | Miami | 4th | ||||||||||||||||
5 | Washington | 0 | ||||||||||||||||
4th | Chicago | 2 | ||||||||||||||||
5 | Washington | 4th | ||||||||||||||||
1 | Miami | 3 | ||||||||||||||||
Eastern Conference | ||||||||||||||||||
2 | Detroit | 4th | ||||||||||||||||
3 | * Boston | 3 | ||||||||||||||||
6th | Indiana | 4th | ||||||||||||||||
6th | Indiana | 2 | ||||||||||||||||
2 | Detroit | 4th | ||||||||||||||||
2 | * Detroit | 4th | ||||||||||||||||
7th | Philadelphia | 1 | ||||||||||||||||
E2 | Detroit | 3 | ||||||||||||||||
W2 | San Antonio | 4th | ||||||||||||||||
1 | * Phoenix | 4th | ||||||||||||||||
8th | Memphis | 0 | ||||||||||||||||
1 | Phoenix | 4th | ||||||||||||||||
4th | Dallas | 2 | ||||||||||||||||
4th | Dallas | 4th | ||||||||||||||||
5 | Houston | 3 | ||||||||||||||||
1 | Phoenix | 1 | ||||||||||||||||
Western Conference | ||||||||||||||||||
2 | San Antonio | 4th | ||||||||||||||||
3 | * Seattle | 4th | ||||||||||||||||
6th | Sacramento | 1 | ||||||||||||||||
3 | Seattle | 2 | ||||||||||||||||
2 | San Antonio | 4th | ||||||||||||||||
2 | * San Antonio | 4th | ||||||||||||||||
7th | Denver | 1 |
* Division winner
2005 NBA Finals
game | date | Home team | Away team | Result | was standing |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | June 9th | San Antonio | Detroit | 84:69 | 1-0 |
2 | June 12 | San Antonio | Detroit | 97:76 | 2-0 |
3 | 14th June | Detroit | San Antonio | 96:79 | 1: 2 |
4th | June 16 | Detroit | San Antonio | 102: 71 | 2: 2 |
5 | June 19th | Detroit | San Antonio | 95:96 a.d. | 2: 3 |
6th | June 21st | San Antonio | Detroit | 86:95 | 3: 3 |
7th | 23rd June | San Antonio | Detroit | 81:74 | 4: 3 |
Spurs' Tim Duncan has been named the Finals MVP . He is only the fourth player in NBA history (previously Magic Johnson , Michael Jordan and Shaquille O'Neal ) to win this trophy three times.
Robert Horry won his sixth NBA championship with San Antonio. This makes him one of only four non- Celtics players, along with Kareem Abdul-Jabbar , Michael Jordan and Scottie Pippen , who was able to achieve this.